Hewlent
About 50 years ago, Gwillim Folant came to Hewlent. At that time, he was a “knight” seeking to slay as many vampires as he could. He had a small group of followers and a decent plan. They would hide in a secured building at night, and assault Noble Vampire lairs during the day. With the pikemen and archers he had, they made quick work of three vampire lords. As their success was noticed, the other Noble Vampires began to organize and protect themselves. One night while they slept seemingly safe, a vampire used a pair of oxen to tear the door off the inn where they were hiding. In the battle that erupted, Gwillim was carried off and soon after, turned into a vampire. They left him tied to a tree awaiting the dawn, but he was able to escape his binds and find cover from the sun. Knowing his own men would hunt and kill him, Gwillim considered his options. Suicide was against his religion, though taking a long walk in the noon day sun had its appeal. Instead, he decided to use his new found power to continue his mission. He trained in a secret lair until he became more familiar with his newfound strength, and his companions had given up hope and left the region. Alone, he stole into the nearest Noble Vampire fort and killed the vampire lord. This was Hewlent, and Gwillim has been the master of the fortress ever since, though not peacefully. Hewlent was the home of some sorry goblins. They worked the fields and died at the hands of their vampire lord, and things were pretty miserable. They didn’t care that the lord had changed and assumed their lives would continue as they had. But Gwillim was a different lord. He began training them for battle; something they hated. He allowed his blood lust to overtake him when faced with an especially contrary goblin, and soon fear had the others in line. But Gwillim wasn’t just training them for battle. He wanted to train them for better lives. He knew a few ranching tips and bought some cattle for the barony. He taught them how to butcher cattle, turn hides to leather, render tallow, and some other industry. He had to wait until the newest generation of goblins had grown up under his rule, but they were far more prosperous than their parents had been. Soon, Hewlent was a bustling land with opportunities and hope. But Gwillim is still a vampire. Though Hewlent has now begun attracting more goblins and even some humans, he needs to feed. He appointed some of the wisest goblins to be judges, and anyone convicted of a serious crime, goes into Gwillim’s dungeon to become his blood cattle. The goblins want to keep their lord happy and well-fed, so they tend to find people guilty very quickly. Gwillim rationalizes that all countries sentence criminals to death; he is simply doing the same. Hewlent is west of Scaret bordering on the southern reaches of the Latvich Badlands. Gwillim (because of his name) is assumed to have been an Anglic knight, but after five decades of life as a vampire, his former human ethnicity is unknown. Traders are welcome in his lands, but few dare to enter, fearing that the goblins will be as wild and unpredictable as their cousins to the south. Gwillim is therefore as close to a “good” vampire as you can find. He rarely allows his thirst to take control of him and feeds only on convicted criminals. His people are far better off now than they were before he took control. He has had to fight off frequent incursions from other Noble Vampires who are opposed to his ways. After all, he’s starting to take away some of the fear people feel when they think of these undead lords, and that cannot be tolerated. Category:Regions Category:Vampires Category:Darklands